Havri: Farmers in Belagavi and Bagalkot districts intensified their protest on Monday, demanding a fixed price for sugarcane, leading to the intervention of district officials at Byadagi in Haveri, reported The Times of India.
Minister for Sugarcane, Textiles, and Agricultural Marketing Shivananda Patil said the agitation had reached a “decisive stage” and that officials had met with the farmers to discuss their demands.
“The district officials have gone to the site and spoken with the farmers,” Patil said. He noted that sugarcane growers are demanding a price of ₹3,500 per tonne, although some sections of farmers are calling for an even higher rate.
Patil clarified that the responsibility for fixing the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) lies with the Central government. “We do not have the authority to set the FRP. The central government determines it. However, discussions are underway to secure better prices from factories that achieve higher recovery rates,” he explained.
The minister added that, for now, the agitation has been limited to Belagavi and Bagalkot districts but said that higher sugar recovery levels in the Krishna region could lead to similar demands from farmers there.
